Page 32 of Her Baby, Her Badge

Dutton knew that was a long shot, though. So did Grace.

“I doubt it’s a match or he wouldn’t have driven it here and risked the possibility of it being scrutinized by cops,” she said, voicing what Dutton was thinking.

If Brian was the killer, then this visit was all some kind of ploy, maybe to try to convince Grace that he was innocent. Or to continue a sick cat-and-mouse game with her.

“What are the chances you’ll get warrants to search Cassie’s and Wilson’s vehicles?” he asked.

“Zero.” She gave a weary sigh. “Everything I have against them is circumstantial, and unlike Brian, I can’t even prove they’ve lied to me. At least a lie could be construed as obstruction of justice. Added to that, a warrant likely wouldn’t produce anything, anyway.”

“Because they probably wouldn’t have used their own vehicles,” he muttered. And he thought of something else. “I can have my PI look into rental-car records for the area. Maybe the killer used one and left some kind of paper trail.”

Grace made a sound of agreement and took a moment, obviously processing that possibility. “Let me do that search through official channels, though. I don’t want anything questioned or thrown out if there are any doubts about the chain of custody if this turns out to be evidence we need for a trial.”

Dutton understood, but he hated that he couldn’t do something to speed things along. Grace and her deputies were already stretched thin, and he was betting that neither Cassie nor Wilson would be forthcoming to help Grace if it turned out one of them was the killer.

That brought Dutton to another question. “Would Cassie have been able to lift the two dead cops?”

Grace shrugged. “Both dead women had slight builds, and Cassie could have used the over-the-shoulder fireman’s carry to get them from the vehicle to the fence. It wouldn’t have been easy, but she could have managed it. Plus, she’s familiar with the area and has motive.”

“Yeah, motive because of me,” he said under his breath.

Grace met his gaze, and for a moment he thought she was about to lecture him on not taking on that kind of blame. She didn’t. She stunned him by brushing her mouth over his. Apparently, she’d stunned herself, too, because she immediately jerked away from him.

“Sorry,” she blurted at the same time he insisted, “Don’t you dare apologize.”

Dutton didn’t add more. Something like it barely qualified as a kiss, anyway. Or that maybe it’d helped relieve a little stress. It certainly had for him, anyway. But for Grace, she probably saw this as a serious lapse in concentration.

She got to her feet. “I’ll go in and interview Brian now. You can watch on the video feed.”

It seemed to Dutton that she couldn’t get out of the office fast enough. Yep, that kiss was weighing on her. It was weighing on him, too, but in a totally different kind of way. It’d been a reminder of just how intense his need was for her.

Her phone dinged with a text, and he saw Aileen’s name on the screen. “‘I’m sorry the past has come back on you like this,’” Grace said, reading aloud. “‘Sorry about the whole damn mess of it. And, no, I won’t go into protective custody. Keep me posted about any developments and do what you need to do to get this pathetic excuse for a human off the streets.’”

Grace sighed, no doubt because her mother had indeed denied the protection. Which she just might need. In fact, it was possible that Grace and he were the decoy targets and thatthe person Brian wanted to punish was Aileen. That theory only worked, though, if Brian was the actual killer.

“Ready for the interview?” Grace asked Livvy when she went out into the bullpen.

Livvy immediately nodded and got up. “SAPD is at Brian’s place now,” Livvy explained as they walked down the hall. “Fingers crossed they find something we can use to get him to confess.”

“Fingers crossed,” Grace agreed in a mutter, but she didn’t sound especially hopeful. Again, that was probably because this particular killer wouldn’t have left something incriminating for the cops to find.

Grace made eye contact with Dutton before he went into the observation area, and he saw that the laptop was still on the table. The screen was blank, but Grace or Livvy must have activated the camera because soon he saw the feed of them in the room with Brian and a smartly dressed woman who must be his attorney. Brian was sporting a bandage on his forehead and a clean T-shirt and jogging pants.

“Sheriff Granger and Deputy Walsh resuming interview with Brian Waterman,” Grace stated. “Also present is his attorney. Please state your name for the record.”

“Cecily Monroe,” the woman said.

Grace pinned her gaze to Brian. “You didn’t mention earlier that you knew me. Why not?”

Because Dutton could see their faces, he noted that neither Brian nor his lawyer showed any surprise over the comment and question, which likely meant Brian had told the lawyer about it.

“I don’t like talking about my past,” Brian replied. “It was a painful time for me, and I worked hard to put it all behind me.”

“But you did recognize me,” Grace pressed.

“Yes. You were a deputy when my girlfriend died,” he said.

Dutton listened for any venom in those words, but didn’t hear any. It was possibly there, though, and Brian was managing to keep it under wraps. After all, the anger over Delaney’s death could be motive.

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